Passionately committed Brahms from Janine Jansen and friends at Wigmore Hall

Janine Jansen
© Lukas Beck

Janine Jansen (violin)

Timothy Ridout (viola)

Daniel Blendulf (cello)

Denis Kozhukhin (piano)

7.30pm, Thursday 21 December 2023

Wigmore Hall, London

★★★★★

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100

                                                    Viola Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120 No. 2

                                                    Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60

Violin Sonata:

'Jansen and Kozhukhin contrasted well the intimate, almost prayerful opening with playful bounce in the offbeat rhythms that followed'.

'Beautiful pianissimo playing from Jansen always retained a warmth of contact, never airy or breathy in tone'.

Jansen, Ridout, Kozhukhin & Blendulf
© Nick Boston

Viola Sonata:

'Ridout has a quietly commanding presence, and right from the opening singing melody, he showed that he had the lyricism to convey Brahms’ long lines, but it was the ebb and flow of joint proceedings with Kozhukhin that drove this opening movement forward'. 

Piano Quartet:

'Right from Kozhukhin’s thundering opening to the Third Piano Quartet, and the dark string response, it was clear this would be a totally committed performance from all four musicians'.

'All four galloped through the strange rhythms of the second movement, with its gloriously startling major conclusion, then Blendulf stepped into the limelight with a beautifully lyrical opening to the Andante, Kozhukhin providing a gentle pulse'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Bye bye, Miss Hope Springs, Hello Ty Jeffries!

Ty Jeffries

Despite Ty Jeffries having performed as his alter ego, Miss Hope Springs for many years now, I have to confess to coming somewhat late to the party. Ty performed a lunchtime concert in Brighton in 2022 as himself, his first in fact, and it was there that I came across his hauntingly beautiful piano music, as well as some of his poignantly witty songs. Of course, I then had to see the larger than life legend that is Miss Hope Springs, and just in the nick of time, as it turns out. After nearly 30 years performing as Miss Hope, Ty has decided to shed the costume and perform as himself, putting his beloved character into cryogenic suspension for one hundred years. He has numerous recitals planned coming up next year, including one at the Wigmore Hall in London, and with two previously recorded albums of his piano music, he hopes to record more. 

So how to describe his piano music? Well, think jazz and 1920s cabaret mixed in with the sadness and expressionism of Satie and Debussy. Throw in some sixties film music, hints of Brel and Michel Legrand, and you’re getting the idea. But having written so many songs for Miss Hope and others, his melody writing shines through, and there is always a strong lyricism running through. Many pieces conjure up instant atmosphere and a sense of place just from their titles – Waltz Buenos Aires, Dusk in the Luxembourg Gardens, St Petersburg, for example. Ty says that they are not intentionally directly descriptive of places, more a mood – as Rodin said, ‘the work of art is already within the block of marble’ – and for Ty, the pieces come out more or less fully formed as a result. In fact several tracks on his albums were improvised on the spot, and that improvisatory feel runs through. Yet one readily projects full back stories onto some – Miss Dickinson is not at Home 

is a case in point, with its nursery rhyme-like melody full of achingly nostalgic and mysterious sadness. A hint of Satie-esque Gymnopedie is given a lilt in Yekatarinberg, and St Petersburg, with its fin de Siècle waltz has a flavour of Satie’s Gnossiennes, whereas Brazilian Waltz evokes Chopin, but also Cuban pianist composer, Cevantes. But none of these references imply pastiche or imitation – there is a distinctive style that is Ty’s, and it is probably that nostalgic, filmic lyricism that is the common thread. The sounds of waves and seagulls bookend the Last Summer at Terijoki album, from its opening, lapping La Mer to the closing rippling, almost minimalist figures of And the Tide Comes in Like Glass. 

 

Miss Hope Springs

Ty tells me he began playing the piano aged 5, on a Steinway that had somehow found its way into the family potting shed. As the son of actor and director Lionel Jeffries and actor Eileen Walsh, the household was frequented by many great names from the world of acting and music. Ty clearly had a gift at the piano that was spotted by the like of Sir John Mills (who taught him jazz chords) and Elmer Bernstein, as well as later being mentored by Vangelis. He studied at The Purcell School of music, and from there played keyboards for Billy Mackenzie and The Associates in the 1990s, also working with Neneh Cherry and Chaka Khan. He has written songs (of course, many to be performed by Miss Hope Springs) and piano pieces ever since, and now finally feels it is time to focus on this side of his talent.  

Ty Jeffries

So I would highly recommend you check out his piano music, with two albums available on Bandcamp, and numerous tracks available on YouTube and elsewhere. And look out for performances in the New Year, when he will be performing selections of his solo songs and piano music. Ty returns to Crazy Coqs in London (where he had a very successful 12 year residency as Miss Hope) on Friday 22 March and Saturday 27 April, and he will also be performing at the Wigmore Hall at 10pm on 7 June. He is also giving a fundraising performance for The Ledward Centre in Brighton on Saturday 13 January - details here. 

Järvi and the Philharmonia hammer home the terrors of war in Prokofiev 6

James Ehnes
© Benjamin Ealovega

James Ehnes (violin)

The Philharmonia

Paavo Järvi (conductor) 

3pm, Sunday 26 November 2023

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Encore:

Eugene Ysaÿe (1858-1931): Sonata for Solo Violin in D minor 'Ballade', Op 27 No. 3

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 111

Paavo Järvi
© Kaupo Kikkas

Debussy:

Järvi’s take on Faune was languorous and warm, yet with a kind of mystical reverence.

Tchaikovsky:

'Ehnes’ unquestionable virtuosity is such that this performance felt almost understated, in a good way. Nothing appeared to be any effort at all, so even in the craziest runs every note was clearly articulated'.

'Järvi et al had great fun with the finale’s rustic drones, and Ehnes’ gunshot spiccato got faster and faster, with a frankly crazy but exhilarating race to the end'.

Prokofiev:

'Järvi put the Philharmonia through their paces, with some particularly unforgiving tempo, especially in the finale, but they were up to the challenge'.

'This was surely Prokofiev’s anger at the horrors of war, and Järvi and the Philharmonia duly delivered the required sense of terror'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

'A Million Little Diamonds' - engaging performances of Anthony Cæsar's settings of children's verse from Amy Carson & Nicola Rose

Anthony Cæsar (1924-2018) was formerly Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, but also composed, best known for his Missa Brevis Capella Regalis. Soprano Amy Carson and pianist Nicola Rose have released a short recording of his short set of eight songs, A Million Little Diamonds. The songs are setting of poems from A Treasury of Verse for Little Children, and this recording is a bit of a family affair. Cæsar wrote the set in 1908 for his niece Judith, and the songs had not been heard until Carson (a cousin of Judith) was approached to record them. They are light numbers, but with joyful and playful setting of the simple texts, and Carson delivers them with and bright and clear tone. There are hints in the writing of that early twentieth century English pastoral style, and the harmonic language is pretty straightforward, but there is a charm in their simplicity. Evening Song that ends the set has more poignant nostalgia, but otherwise they are mostly light in mood. Carson has performed with The Sixteen, the Monteverdi Choir and the Gabrieli Consort, and specialises more in Baroque repertoire, but the lightness of touch she brings here is very much suited to these pretty songs. Nicola Rose, who works as a repetiteur for various opera companies, including Welsh National Opera and Longborough Festival Opera, provides smoothly flowing accompaniments, and brings out well the few moments of less expected harmonic movement, as well as bouncing along the more rhythmic accompaniments of songs such as The Four Winds and I Would Like You for a Comrade. They both enjoy the light humour of The Clocking Hen, yet give the briefly glistening Winter Jewels a pretty shine. Whilst relatively small scale overall, the set would sit nicely within a longer recital, and the performances here are touchingly engaging. 

Cæsar, A. 2023. A Million Little Diamonds. Amy Carson, Nicola Rose. Compact Disc or Download. Convivium Records CR082.

An engaging and effective evocation of the night in Night Fragments from Richard Carr and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble

Richard Carr is a New York-based violinist, pianist and composer, and together with a string quartet drawn from the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, he has recorded a haunting album of atmospheric reflections on the space ‘between the gloaming and dawn’, in ‘Night Fragments’. ACME have worked with the likes of Wayne McGregor, Meredith Monk and Max Richter, to name just a few, and Carr has worked with artists such as Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Sly & Robbie, as well as numerous recordings in his own right. The sound world is improvisatory and rhapsodic, with many tracks combining scored parts for the string quartet beneath Carr’s flights on the violin, although he also plays piano, hammer dulcimer and makes use of electronics on other tracks. A common element is slow moving chords, often in the string quartet, whilst a solo line adds flourishes and folksy melodic lines on top. As a result, many of the tracks have a slower overall tempo, although The Ghost of a Flea, with its rapid perpetual string motion brings a little more rhythmic energy, with its minimalist influenced repetition, which slowly becomes more jerky and lively. A Twist in the Mist gives the improvisation to the strings, whilst the piano provides the shadowy, introspective grounding. And there’s an eerie piano opening to the ACME Nocturne (named in honour of the ensemble), and Carr cites Morton Feldman as an influence here. When the strings join, they add further atmosphere with mysterious shifting chords and shimmering effects. Use of electronics is sparse in Thunder Asunder, providing extra texture to the pizzicato strings at the start evoking the increasing raindrops, and Carr’s violin has folk tinges in its melodic lines. However, Deep in the Cloisters makes more significant use of electronics, with Carr playing violin and adding all the electronics here. It open with Pärt-like glassy strings, but then develops with low electronic drones and swelling waves, creating a very rich soundscape. Electronics feature again in Slightly Fitful, along with Carr on both piano and hammer dulcimer, creating a lighter, more meditative mood. Nocturnal Entomologyadds string improvisations to piano and dulcimer rhythmic backing, conjuring up cicadas, katydids and tree crickets. And finally, Just Before Dawn again puts string improvisations alongside Carr’s piano, here again showing the influence of Feldman, and there is a real sense here of those last nocturnal moments before a new day dawns, with increasing intensity and expectation over a tolling low piano bass note. Overall, there is a similar feel to many of the tracks here, but Carr’s use of different textures through addition of piano, dulcimer or electronics adds enough variety to sustain interest. The performances are clear and precise throughout, and the recorded sound is atmospherically warm and resonant, resulting in an engaging and effective evocation of the mysterious world of the night.

Carr, R. 2023. Night Fragments. Richard Carr, American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR073.

Confusion clouds any central critique in Clément's Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni), Michael Ronan (Masetto),
Charlotte Bowden (Zerlina) and Chorus
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

Stephanie Childress (Conductor)

Mariame Clément (Director)

Paul Higgins (Revival Director)

Julia Hansen (Designer)

Bernd Purkrabek (Lighting Designer)

Étienne Guiol (Projection Designer)

Keith Wallis (Fight Director)

The Glyndebourne Sinfonia

Richard Milone (Leader)

Ben-Sau Lau (Fortepiano continuo)

Jonathan Tunnell (Cello continuo)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Aidan Oliver (Chorus Director)

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni) & Sam Carl (Leporello)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

4pm, Sunday 12 November 2023

Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne

★★★

Sam Carl (Leporello)

Kseniia Proshina (Donna Anna)

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni)

Ivo Stanchev (The Commendatore)

Nico Darmanin (Don Ottavio)

Alexandra Lowe (Donna Elvira)

Charlotte Bowden (Zerlina)

Michael Ronan (Masetto)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Don Giovanni

(libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838))

Kseniia Proshina (Donna Anna) & Nico Darmanin (Don Ottavio)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

'There is so much going on here – keys standing in for gravestone inscriptions (why?), dead body chalk outlines flashing up in lights, rapist masks and a rotting 10-foot high cake topped with the number 2075 (again, why?), to name but a few'.

'Bondarenko was nimble in voice and tone throughout. Sam Carl’s Leporello (complete with Columbo mac) was equally convincing vocally'.

'Proshina showed the full range of emotions, with fear and anger uppermost, with impressively steely coloratura in Act 2. Lowe by contrast gave us real despair and anguish in her tone'.

Sam Carl (Leporello), Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni)
& Ivo Stanchev (Commendatore)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

'Stephanie Childress conducted with energy and panache, and on the whole, ensemble was tight, and the complex sextets, septets and chain finales were given strong energy and drive'.

'Musically strong performances all round, but ultimately too much extraneous detail undermined what could have been a strong critique for our times'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Another joyful Glyndebourne return for Annabel Arden's fizzy Elisir d'amore

Maxime Nourissat (Dulcamara's Assistant) & Filipe Manu (Nemorino)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

Adam Hickox (Conductor)

Annabel Arden (Director)

Lez Brotherson (Designer)

Leah Hausman (Movement Director)

Giuseppe Di Iorio (Lighting Designer)

The Glyndebourne Sinfonia

Richard Milone (Leader)

Matthew Fletcher (Fortepiano continuo)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Aidan Oliver (Chorus Director)

Mariam Battisteri (Adina) & Tiziano Bracci (Dr Dulcamara)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

Mariam Battistelli (Adına)

Filipe Manu/Rhys Batt (Nemorino)

Theodore Platt (Belcore)

Tiziano Bracci (Dr Dulcamara)

Ffion Edwards (Gianetta)

Maxime Nourissat (Dulcamara's Assistant)

4pm, Saturday 11 November 2023

Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne 

★★★★

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): L'elisir d'amore

(libretto by Felice Romani (1788-1865))

Filipe Manu (Nemorino) & Mariam Battistelli (Adina)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

'The single setting makes perfect sense and, as a result, we are immediately drawn into this small yet vibrant world'. 

'The Nemorino ‘team’ carried us through the second act remarkably convincingly, and his (Rhys Batt's) 'Una furtiva lagrima' was astonishing'.

'Mariam Battistelli’s Adina was light and playful, her tone was clear and bright throughout'.

Filipe Manu (Nemorino), Mariam Battistelli (Adina)
& the Glyndebourne Chorus
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

'The chorus were in fine form, but the women deserve special mention for their comic ensemble in Act 2, shifting from their drunken entry to competitive avarice when they learn of Nemorino’s newly acquired wealth'. 

'This production delivered just the right combination of comedy and emotion and, with fine solo and chorus singing throughout, left the audience with a warm glow on a cold November evening'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here. 

Lugansky and Petrenko inject new life into iconic Rachmaninov and Elgar

Nikolai Lugansky & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Andy Paradise

Nikolai Lugansky (piano)

Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

7.30pm, Sunday 29 October 2023

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Lera Auerbach (b.1973): Icarus

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Encore -

Rachmaninov: Prelude in G sharp minor, Op.32 no.12

Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55

Vasily Petrenko, Nikolai Lugansky
& the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Andy Paradise

Auerbach:

'Auerbach packs in the drama, opening with slapping basses and racing cellos, then propelling us through Icarus’ dramatic rise and ultimate fall'.

'... the star of the show ... was Lydia Kavina on theremin, its eery, otherworldly presence gaining increasing presence, building to its terrifying fall through several octaves'. 

Rachmaninov:

'... in the first movement his percussive projection cut through the thick orchestral textures, yet this never felt aggressive, just assuredly assertive'.

'Lugansky’s touch was particularly heartrending in the slow movement, supported by beautifully tender flute and clarinet solos'.

Vasily Petrenko conducts the RPO
© Andy Paradise

Elgar:

'... his grasp on its rich and lavish orchestration was evident right from the opening build to the noble theme’s first tutti rendition'.

'Petrenko took no prisoners with an incredibly quick second movement; the RPO ensemble was highly impressive here'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

'To the Northern Star' - strong performances from Flauguissimo and friends of delightful chamber works for flute by 'the Father of Swedish Music', Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758)

The ensemble Flauguissimo Duo (Yu-Wei Hu (flute) and Johan Löfving (theorbo/guitar)) first came to my attention when they were BREMF Live! artists at Brighton Early Music Festival back in 2012. Since then, they have released their debut album, A Salon Opera (my review here), and Löfving also released an album of music for guitar and string quartet with the Consone Quartet (also BREMF Live! participants in 2016) (my review here). So it is great to see them back with another release, and I was fortunate to see them performing works from the recording as they completed their album launch tour, appropriately enough at a satellite event prior to this year’s Brighton Early Music Festival. Their album, ‘To the Northern Star’, consists of chamber works by Johann Helmich Roman (1694-1758), and they are joined by Magdalena Loth-Hill (violin), Henrik Persson (viola da gamba) and Emily Atkinson (soprano). I have to confess, Roman was new to me, despite being hailed as ‘The Father of Swedish Music’. He studied alongside J. S. Bach’s brother, Johann Jacob, and then spent considerable time in London, performing at the King’s Theatre in Handel’s orchestra. He returned to Stockholm to the court of Frederick I and Queen Ulrica Eleonora, and he dedicated the publication of his Twelve Sonatas for flute and basso continuo to the Queen in 1727. Flauguissimo have recorded three of those sonatas here, and they are full of delightful invention, grace and elegance. Yu-Wei Hu makes her flute sing in the aria-like movements, such as the opening Largo of No. 4, and her rippling ornamentations flow effortlessly, as in the French overture-like Larghetto at the start of No. 10. The quicker movements dance along, and Löfving switches between theorbo and guitar to provide variety of texture. Persson’s viola da gamba provides an almost hurdy-gurdy effect in the rustic Piva of No. 10 around which the flute circles, and the closing Villanella feels even more rustic, with tapping and strumming accompaniment. Hu’s flowing lines are impressively fluid, with precise articulation and rare pauses for breath. Roman favours a lilting swing for his quicker movements – moments of rapid virtuosity are relatively few and far apart, but when they come, such as in the Allegro following the Adagio in No. 8, Hu’s precision is impressive, and here matched with swift articulation from Persson in response. Alongside the Sonatas, there are two Arias here. The first, ‘Süße Zeiten eilet nicht’, comes from the Cantata in einer Taffel-Music, opens with delightful cascading flute passages over a delicately falling bass line. Atkinson’s bright clear soprano joins with gently lilting lines, gradually picking up more ornamentation to match the flute, with Loth-Hill’s beautifully blended violin joining the action. Atkinson returns for the second aria, this time in Swedish, with ‘I eder bästa vår’ from Bröllops Music, written for an aristocratic wedding. Again, Atkinson demonstrates flowing virtuosity in the vocal lines, with bright and joyful communication of the text, although the recording balance is a little heavily in favour of the voice, so that the flute doubling of the vocal line is only just audible. But this aria is also striking for its violin part, with an extensive solo cadenza-like passage, full of Baroque string crossing and sequences, with more than a hint of Corelli, following the lyrical opening. Loth-Hill is impressive here, particularly when rising into the high registers, keeping a bright and clear tone throughout. They end their recording with their own arrangement of the Trio Sonata No. 3 in E minor, originally written for two violins and continuo, here performed with flute and violin on the top lines. The opening, sad Largo sounds like a Bach chorale, and Hu & Loth-Hill beautifully blend their instruments here. The Vivace that follows brings virtuosity and spirit for both instruments, with additional energy perhaps missing from the more stylish Sonatas. Persson matches their virtuosity with nimble syncopation here. More strumming from Löfving and swinging ornamented lines bring the Trio Sonata and their disc to a lively finish. It’s great to hear this delightful music receiving such strong and dedicated performances from Flauguissimo and friends, and hopefully there will be more Roman to come from them.  

Roman, J.H. 2023. To the Northern Star - Chamber works for flute. Flauguissimo: Yu-Wei Hu, Johan Löfving, Magdalena Loth-Hill, Emily Atkinson, Henrik Persson. Compact Disc. Resonus Classics. RES10316. 

A season opener with a bang from the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

Clark Rundell
© Benjamin Ealovega

Clark Rundell (conductor)

Joanna MacGregor (piano)

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

Ruth Rogers (leader)

2.45pm, Sunday 8 October 2023

Brighton Dome

★★★★

John Adams (b.1947): Short Ride in a Fast Machine

George Gershwin (1898-1937): Concerto in F major for piano and orchestra

Charles Ives (1874-1954): The Unanswered Question

Leonard Bernstein (1919-1990): Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story'

The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra certainly opened their 99th season with a bang in an all-American programme, conducted by American conductor Clark Rundell. 

They kicked off with a tight rendition of John Adams’ exhilarating curtain-raiser, his Short Ride in a Fast Machine. It immediately offered the extensive percussion section a chance to shine, and they also featured strongly in the rest of the programme. The Adams is fiendish to play, with its insistent pulse and complex cross rhythms, perhaps explaining why Rundell took this at the slightest notch down in tempo, but the BPO rose to the occasion, with a particularly bright and shiny brass section, making for a lively start to their programme.

Joanna MacGregor
© Pal Hansen

The BPO’s Music Director, Joanna MacGregor then joined the stage with Clark Rundell for a brief but insightful overview of the programme, before taking to the piano for Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. The Concerto followed a year after the huge success of his Rhapsody in Blue (1924), and takes a more traditional concerto format, whilst retaining the jazz and blues styles of its predecessor. Unlike the Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin orchestrated the Concerto fully himself, and it certainly demonstrates his ability to create imaginative orchestral colours, also making use of frequent solos from within the orchestra. The BPO relished the rhythms, and the solos when they came were stylish, with a particularly louche turn from Principal Trumpet John Ellwood in the central Adagio, matched by Leader Ruth Rogers’ cheeky solo later in that same movement. MacGregor was clearly in her element here and enjoying herself, with dramatic virtuosic chase sequences, a particularly jazzy interlude in the opening movement, and thrilling cartoon filigree in the finale. Yet she also gave us poignant delicacy when alongside divided cellos in the second movement. Rundell steered the orchestra through the frequent episodic tempo changes, and the orchestra’s crashing conclusion brought the concert’s first half to an exciting finish.

After the break, trumpeter John Ellwood was dispatched upstairs to the balcony for Charles Ives fascinatingly enigmatic piece, The Unanswered Question. The strings play the part here of silent druids, ignoring or oblivious to the dialogue that ensues between the solo trumpet and a quartet of flutes on stage. Over the quiet, slow shifting and basically tonal strings, the trumpet poses a question, in fact ‘The Perennial Question of Existence’, with a simple but angular figure, clashing harmonically with the calmness of the strings. The flutes, the ‘Fighting Answerers’ respond, but become more frustrated and angry with each response, as the question comes back again and again from the trumpet - no fewer than seven times in all. The BPO strings maintained a calm pianissimo throughout, as Ellwood’s call had a searching fragility, and the flutes progressed well from confusion to frustration and anger, before giving up, leaving the trumpet’s final question unanswered. It’s a short piece, at just over six minutes, but Ives packs a lot in here, and Rundell and the BPO gave us a fine performance to ponder over here.

Uncertainty was then swept away in the BPO’s finale, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Here Bernstein takes us through the key moments of the show, focussing particularly on the gang conflict, with thrilling orchestration, and particularly making use of a large percussion section. Once they had got going, the BPO clearly had a ball here, and the drive and energy levels increased as the piece progressed. The strings produced a suitably warm sound for the ‘Somewhere’ moments, and everyone had great fun with ‘Mambo’. Tony and Maria’s ‘Cha-cha’ had grace and delicacy, and the brass section gave us a real big band sound as the ‘Cool Fugue’ led into the ‘Rumble’. Yet after the dramatic climax here, Bernstein then leaves us with distant strings and final poignant hints of ‘Somewhere’. If the final chords were a little nervy here, the overall effect of the journey from Rundell and the BPO was nevertheless powerful and impressive.

MacGregor and the BPO have an eclectic and varied programme ahead of them this season (my preview is here), and if they continue on this form, the season promises to be a great success.

Clark Rundell & the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
© Nick Boston

Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers in their shining glory from I Fagiolini

I Fagiolini
© Monika S Jakubowska

Robert Hollingworth (director/organ)

 

I Fagiolini: 

Julia Doyle (soprano)

Martha McLorinan (mezzo soprano)

Ciara Hendrick (mezzo soprano)

Nicholas Mulroy (tenor)

Matthew Long (tenor)

Nicholas Hurndall Smith (tenor)

Chris Fitzgerald-Lombard (tenor)

Greg Skidmore (baritone)

Sam Gilliatt (baritone)

Charles Gibbs (bass)

Frederick Long (bass)

Eligio Quinteiro (chitarrone)

Lynda Sayce (chitarrone/recorder/flute)

Aileen Henry (harp)

William Lyons (dulcian/recorder/flute)

Catherine Pierron (organ)

Robert Hollingworth conducting I Fagiolini and 
the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble
© Monika S Jakubowska

Kinga Ujszászi (violin)

Naomi Burrell (violin)

Rachel Byrt (viola)

Julia Black (viola)

Gavin Kibble (bass violin)

William Hunt (violone)

English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble:

Gawain Glenton (cornett)

Conor Hastings (cornett)

Nick Perry (cornett/tenor cornett)

Emily White (sackbut)

Tom Lees (sackbut)

Adrian France (sackbut)

7.30pm, Friday 29 September 2023

Kings Place, London

★★★★★

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206

'Kinga Ujszászi led the bright and lively string band, and the ECSE's vibrant cornett flourishes and rich sackbut tones added glorious colour'. 

'Tenor Nicholas Mulroy was the star of the evening, his Nigra sum, accompanied by Aileen Henry on harp, was simply stunning, with intense passion, richness in the bass range, and incredibly controlled decresdendi on “veni”'.

'... their Duo Seraphim was frankly astonishing, with wrenching suspensions and startling, stuttering ornaments, perfectly matched one after the other'.

'The singers were constantly alive to duos or trios within the textures, responding to each other and clearly enjoying when their lines came together'.

'A special performance that will not be forgotten'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.